My first pet Male Syrian- I keep finding bloodied bedding

[CMB]

Hope your hamster is ok. He could have a urinal tract infection. Keep checking and if need be he may need to see a vet. Try to find one who has knowledge of hamsters.

If your water is safe for you to drink, then it is ok for your hamster.

Hope he settles in well.

Your cage may have been recommended by the store. But they just want to make money. As your hamster grows a bigger cage may be needed. Syrian hamster can grow a lot. They need to run on their wheel with their back straight (not curved as it will be painful).

Your hamster could also get stuck in the tubes if it gets extra large.

Bar chewing is often a sign of a bored/stressed hamster. They need room to run and have things to climb over, under or through. A digging area and a nice dark open bottomed nest area/house.

Pacing back and forth is another sign of stress/boredom. So if your hamster shows signs like these. A bigger cage would be good. Pet stores have a dollar a gallon sale on fish tanks. A 40 gallon tank for 40 dollars is less than buying a few habitrail cages and some tubes. A 40 long is better than a 40 gallon as it gives more floor space.

One big cage is better than small cages linked by tubes. You can add more enrichment/toys.

Have a look at other people’s cages on here and YouTube. You may see how much fun they look for the hamsters.

[Pebbles82]

Tap water should be fine The cage size goes by continuous floor area. So it's ok to have two cages attached as long as one is big enough. The recommended minimum in the US is about 450 square inches continuous floor space. That's about the size of a Duna Multy cage (70cm by 40cm). You wouldn't want anything smaller than that for a Syrian - they need a base that's deep enough for plenty of substrate for digging, and house and toys large enough (rat sized toys and tunnels are best for Syrians).

It's so they can have space for normal behaviours like digging, foraging and exploring - especially at night when they're most active.

The equivalent to the Duna Multy in the US is something like this FOP cage from Abbaseed. The top one on the page.

HAMSTER CAGES

Personally I'd go for something a little bit bigger than that - heightwise it only fits a 9" wheel I think. They do much better with one larger cage than two joined together - even if one is big enough.

A lot of people in the US make bin cages as good sized cages are hard to find and usually expensive. The alternative is a diy cage, a detolf or a glass tank (a 40 gallon breeder is popular for a Syrian).

Pet shops will sell anything unfortunately - there is no legislation as to what cage size they sell, so it comes down to animal welfare organisations to recommend suitable habitats for hamsters.

Some people have taken a cage back for a refund saying it's too small. The Ovo is very cute but not really suitable for a hamster cage. The Twist is too small as well and you'd have difficulty fitting a Syrian sized wheel in. Any wheel smaller than 8" diameter is bad for a hamster - they need a wheel big enough they can run with a straight back - or they can get back pain and problems. Often they just stop using it if it's too small.

This is a good cage for a Syrian, but it's expensive. The Marchioro Goran 82 (not the 72)

https://www.petmountain.com/product/...-rat-cage.html

Petco have dollar per gallon sales regularly and you can get a 40 gallon tank for $40 during the sales.

Or you can get a detolf for $40 (an Ikea glass cabinet tipped on its side with the door left off - it needs a lid making though, so some diy).

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ha...w=1525&bih=678

I would definitely look at asking the pet shop to take it back for a refund and get something else - so you have a happy, healthy hammy. Their behaviour changes noticeably when they're in a bigger cage with more places to go and things to do

The basics are 4 to 6" of substrate, a house/hide big enough to build a big nest in, somewhere dark to retreat to to feel safe (this can be the house if you put a bendy bridge over the door so it's dark inside), some kind of level or platform to sit under and climb onto. They like sitting on a shelf. Hidey places, tunnels, tubes and other floor toys.

This is our Syrian's cage set up

Attachment 43508

As for the blood, just wondering if there is anything he could catch himself on - a sharp bit of plastic or something?

[cypher]

As the others have said tap water is fine for them.
I was just wondering about the blood as the thread seems to be leaving the original topic, are you still finding any?
If you can post a photo of what you're seeing it might help.

[LuceMookandNeo]

Hi just wanted to update the situation;
No more blood has occurred, when I did a full clean of his cage it seemed the main point was one of the tubes so he may have caught himself there.
He is fighting fit and been totally fine since
Thanks for taking the time to respond to me it was much appreciated in a time of great worry.
Here’s a happy Neo

[CMB]

That’s good to hear.

[AmityvilleHams]

Modular setups are quite different to actual open floor space Even if you had several units attached it still wouldn't be a suitable cage in which a hamster could thrive in.

I would use a good quality purified water with no added minerals.Tap water can have all sorts of contaminants that can make it quite unsuitable,even if seemingly safe for human use.

If the wheel itself has any sort of gap or attaches in several pieces where the running surface is,it can be an injury risk.This isn't too widely known in the hamster community though,it's more well known in the hedgehog community with Silent Spinners!Plus,wheels like that also have another flaw as they can fall apart which gives another safety risk

It is good that the blood hasn't come back though!It may not have been entirely to blame on the tubes though,since so many different things can cause injuries even when it isn't expected.